Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England. When the discarded Katherine dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice. At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down.

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Publisher's Summary

Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2012

The sequel to Hilary Mantel's 2009 Man Booker Prize winner and New York Times best seller, Wolf Hall delves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn. Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England. When the discarded Katherine dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice. At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over three terrifying weeks, Anne is ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle. Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies follows the dramatic trial of the queen and her suitors for adultery and treason. To defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must ally with his natural enemies, the papist aristocracy. What price will he pay for Anne's head?

100 pages in and it is hard to miss that this isn't just a nominal sequel to Wolf Hall, but rather the first book's logical annex. There is no drop-off in complexity. No laxity of language. Still Mantel manages to shift form, change structure and reinvent her style. She even manages to give the character of Thomas Cromwell more depth and complexity, a feat which seemed near impossible after finishing Wolf Hall.

Anyway, Mantel is one of the finest writers of English prose living. Each sentence is crafted like a unique piece in an Italian inlaid music box. She has a purpose for each comma and can make words seem to dance, fall and recover right off the page. She pulls the history out of the history and has written Tower interrogations so deft and chilling, one is left afraid of both language and the law. As readers, we watch Cromwell destroy men, overthrow queens, and change history with words, paper and a sharp understanding of men's motives. We aren't afraid because Cromwell is a monster, but because he is so heroically human.

After listening to this and the preceding Wolf Hall, I despair of ever having so much satisfaction on an audiobook and its performance. Mantel's writing is exquisite. Each sentence is carefully crafted, balanced, purposeful. The story is amusing, engrossing, horrifying, comforting, and always compelling. If feels like history but somehow one is transported into Cromwell's head and behind his eyes.

And Vance must feel the same way I do. His reading...his performance....is absolutely spot on.

I will NOT enjoy any other book, or pair of books, as much. It's all downhill from here.

I just wish we would get another volume...perhaps it will yet come. The last words in the book state that the end is the beginning.

What other book might you compare Bring Up the Bodies to and why?

I feel like I have had a course in Tudor history, but with a lot more of the important social and economic detail than you would ever get in a classroom.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Pure magic. Seriously, there must be a lot of scholarship....the details are so dense and believable. But the primary thing is the lyrical writing.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Her present-tense prose works better read-aloud, at least with so fine a reader.

Cromwell as villain is nuanced by a detailed imagining of his life, his memories, his musings late at night, and even imagining a detained suspect locked, in the dark in the family Christmas closet (puts light on similar stories about More locking heretics in his basement for easier interrogation).

Okay, there will be a volume 3 for sure, or even a volume per wife, but boat loads of us will be waiting for them.

I think that Hilary Mantel is an wonderful author. Her story telling; her use of language; her ability to bring to life a far away period of time weaves a literary spell. I wish the book had been twice as long!!

Now I need to wait for her to write/complete the final book in this triology.

The England of Hilary Mantel is totalitarian state. Simon Vance, one of my favorite readers, reads this book beautifully but, all the same, his voice lacks the necessary malevolence that the narrator of Wolf Hall was able to achieve.

I hope that Audible will soon bring Hilary Mantel's other books into their library.

I am slowly but surely becoming a fan of Hillary Mantel here. The combination between her and Simon Vance is was very much fitting here. Most persons I have heard speaking about "Bring Up the Bodies" generally tends to say that they preferred the book in the series, "Wolf Hall", to this. Personally though, I found that I enjoyed "Bring Up the Bodies" more.

I've always liked to read about this particular era in British History... the era of the Boleyn's. The downfall of Anne and the sensationalism that surrounded this time is something that I would never predict to happen in real life. Seeing what happens through the vantage point of Thomas Cromwell is pretty fascinating if you ask me. Having to manipulate and contort the law the way he did to fit the whims and fancies of the King of England at the time, Henry VIII. The narration was what I have come to expect from Simon Vance to be honest. Simply flawless.

If you do not find intrigue breathtaking, don't read this well written and well researched book. Hilary Mantel is my new favorite author, and what a remarkable writer and teller -of-tales she is! Her writing is dense, insightful, and rich in nuance. She takes the story of Anne Boleyn and makes it come to life (and death), as witnessed through the actions of Thomas Cromwell, one of King Henry VIII's chief counselors. It appears no accusations can be too bold, and no recriminations too slanderous if you are king and want to be rid of a wife you just spent ten years courting into marriage. The dicotomy of a king's whim and a queen's rights could not be more opposite, and if you can rid yourself of a few extra people along the way, why not...

I'd recommend it anyone who has enjoyed reading "Wolf Hall" or enjoyed listening to Simon Slater's rendering of Part 1. It seems about half as long.

What did you like best about this story?

The character of Thomas Cromwell...brilliant and badass...

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The dialogue has an additional dimension...and the story requires a superior reader...which Vance is...as was Simon Slater in Wolf Hall.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes...a number of laughs at the wit of Mantel's channeling of Cromwell.

Any additional comments?

I don't know why Simon Slater wasn't chosen to read...since his rendering of Wolf Hall was one of the greatest performances I've heard but Vance does a very good job of it...and the Cromwell voice choices he makes echo Slater's in the earlier book. Hilary Mantel is a superb writer...a witty and brilliant vision of how things may have been in a very mean and ruthless time period. I enjoyed seeing the fall of several of Cromwell's (and Woolsley's) enemies.

This is the sequel to Hilary Mantel’s award-winning “Wolf Hall”. Here we follow Thomas Cromwell, secretary and advisor to King Henry VIII to the beheading of Anne Boleyn. While King henry was enamoured of Anne Boleyn for seven years, which included his divorce and annulment of his 20-year marriage to Katherine of Aragon, his exiting from the Catholic church and starting his own church in England, and his ultimate marriage to Anne, he soon becomes disenchanted with her. Their marriage lasts three years; no son is born alive, and only a daughter, Elizabeth, lives. Katherine finally dies, and within a few weeks of her death, the gossip surrounding Anne grows to a climax as people perceive the king is willing to hear rumors and innuendos about her unfaithfulness to him. Again, Thomas Cromwell is the primary focus of the novel and we see events unfold through his eyes. We see a man who rose to his high office but remains, so far as nobility is concerned, a commoner. He has dedicated his life and service to King Henry VIII but with no illusions that the king and the nobility could turn on him in a moment. He retains his position through his wit, intelligence and long memory regarding the people around him. The weeks involving Anne Boleyn’s trial, and the trial of other men tried for treason for allegedly taking liberties with her, is terrifying. The actual beheading of Anne Boleyn is gut wrenching, particularly when you learn that she must kneel but will have no block to rest her head on. She must kneel perfectly still in one place so the head will come off with one stroke. Reading about this period reminds me very much of the French Revolution period of chaos. I don’t know if Mantel plans more books leading to the eventual downfall of Cromwell or if this is it. Simon Vance does his usual wonderful job of narration with each character having its own vocal expressions, Cromwell always remaining slightly remote and cool. I assume this book will get some awards as well. It is very good.

I have read Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies in their print editions and have now listened to them. I highly recommend doing both, and don't think it would matter whether you listened or read first. Both Simon Slater (Wolf Hall narrator) and Simon Vance (Bodies) are excellent, and their readings add much to what is already sublime writing. I almost hesitate to say that Hilary Mantel writes in a poetical manner, because it might turn some people off, but she does, with a style that is so immediate and accessible that you feel as though you are part of Thomas Cromwell. The history is fascinating and leaves you wanting more. Thankfully, she is working on the third volume of the trilogy. Even though I'm very motivated to read more on this period and these people, I think I'll wait until after I've read the third volume. I want to hear it from Hilary first!

Simon Vance does such a good job narrating this sequel to Wolf Hall I listened a second time just to savor it again. Very strong images and rhythmic text, dialogue enhanced by reading as the different voices and personalities are distinct and add flavor. Shorter than the first book due to a much tighter time frame, this book concerns only the fall of Anne Boleyn. Important events of Cromwell's life are revisited helping to illuminate objects and memories for readers who have not read the first volume. Fascinating view of a well known historical event as imagined by the author from the point of view of Thomas Cromwell, it is particularly of interest for those who are familiar with this period of history.

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